Some doctors banned abroad continue to practice in Belgium

An international investigation led by Belgium’s De Tijd newspaper has revealed that numerous doctors prohibited from practicing medicine abroad continue to treat patients in Belgium. The project, conducted in collaboration with media outlets from 44 countries, compared records of over 2.5 million licensed and disqualified healthcare professionals. The findings showed that doctors banned from practicing in countries such as the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and France remain listed in official Belgian medical registers, including those maintained by the Medical Association, Health Ministry, and the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (Riziv).

The reviewed cases included general practitioners, specialists, dentists, and psychotherapists. Offenses ranged from sexual assault and patient misconduct to large-scale social security fraud and gross medical incompetence. Despite having their credentials revoked elsewhere, some of these healthcare workers continue to operate in Belgium, raising significant safety and ethics concerns within the medical community.

One key reason behind the problem is the ineffective use of the European Union’s Internal Market Information System (IMI), an alert system intended to flag disqualified professionals. The Belgian Medical Association admitted there is no coordination between IMI warnings and its domestic lists. After the report, Belgian Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke called for the establishment of stronger control mechanisms and clear definitions of working frameworks for healthcare practitioners, emphasizing the importance of quality care and patient rights for all, regardless of doctors’ country of origin.